


Guardian

by StormDriver



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, and by god will i do everything myself, post-bbs, pre-kh1, something something ventus and sora need to interact more
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:00:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27242329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StormDriver/pseuds/StormDriver
Summary: Brevity is the mark of maturity. And greeting a child with such carelessness may not have been Ventus' best idea.
Relationships: Sora & Ventus (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 46





	Guardian

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FluffyK](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FluffyK/gifts).



> This was a one-shot draft-esque story that I've had buried in my word docs for roughly two years now. I initially wrote it in response to one of my friends' ideas regarding Ventus being something of a ghost that could interact with Sora prior to being woken up in KH3. We were throwing ideas back and forth between each other about the concept, but this was my take on it. Please enjoy what I managed to scrap together ^^

What would’ve been the first thing to notice? The rainbow enigma beneath his tired frame, the details of the stained glass becoming crisper as he fell. Was it truly falling, though? He felt as though he could fly if he wanted. To soar away from this void. But why would I ever do that? There’s nowhere to go. 

This place... 

I know it. I have to.

I've been here. But… How long ago?

Does that matter…? It’s… so warm... 

I have to know this place. This… this person.

You were there for me before… Even if you didn’t know it.

...

I remember now. 

Yes, I remember it… Barely, but I remember it.

This... is your heart.

* * *

“Hey! Can you hear me?!” 

That voice, too, was familiar. A child’s, for certain. One that he was sure he’d never heard before. But for some reason, the sound of their voice didn’t matter to him. The warmth of his heart was enough.

There in that darkened pit, there was only one source of light. The blue glow beneath the glass, resembling that of a window pane one might find in a church. Oceanic colors tipped with the lightest emeralds. The intricate designs of the heart emblazoned over its surface, gleaming with the lights beneath it. One might have been a star-shaped fruit. Another, a toy sword. A raft. 

And in the center of it all, a small child. Tanned skin and fluffy strands poking off his head. He was staring up into the darkened air. Where was he looking? Could he possibly see me? No, he… It wasn’t his voice, was it?

He had to be staring at me. 

This was his heart.

_ I… heard your voice.  _ The light fluttered down closer.  _ It cut through the darkness around me. _

The child gaped as the light grew closer. And he held out his small palms.

_ All alone, I followed the sound, into a sea of light… _ The light shimmered and held close to the dear boy.  _ And found myself here, with you. _

He nodded like he understood what was being spoken to him. But no one would truly understand the bond that would blossom between these two. 

_ You gave me something back when I needed it most.  _ The memories were coming back.  _ A second chance. _

The child stared at the frail heart. “I did…?”

_ But… now I have to go back to sleep again. _

And now he looked hurt. No, that wasn’t the word… He looked…

“Are you sad?”

Such a mundane question. Something only a child would think to ask.

Am I sad? I don’t know. I’m too tired to think about it…

_ Would you mind… if I stayed here? With you? _

They perked up almost immediately. “Sure, if it’ll make you feel better.”

The weight of being alive was finally starting to catch up to him.  _ Thank you. _

The light kept shimmering as the boy’s hands closed around the heart. It grew closer and closer to the warmth that would protect it for years to come. Fading into the child’s body as it began its long rest on its road to recovery. The boy held his hands over his chest, feeling the warmth of this new person within him. Feeling their slumber begin. Their aches ease. Their light rekindle.

The night sky was as beautiful as it had been every night that he’d stayed out to see it. Tonight felt a bit stranger than others, but he was reassured that the weirdness was over. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes again to the sky.

“Well?” 

They were still standing on the beach shores. The island where they liked to play sitting on the horizon. His friend stood there, waiting to hear his condition. 

Sora gave Riku a little smile. “Ya know… I think it worked.” 

And Riku returned that smile. 

They both stared up into the vast blue, admiring the sight. And given the time, the worlds would be saved by these two heroes. Who, as the other three had, stood beneath the same blaze of stars. 

* * *

There was little time to fleet away. Though he couldn’t be sure how much had passed before his dreams stopped being dreams and turned more and more into reality. When the memories were no longer from the past, rather being created as he watched things unravel. Not much had changed from the memories to the present. Though notably, he could speak. 

The first time he did so, it left the poor child with deep fears of ghosts in his bedroom. He hadn’t meant to scare the child in the slightest. He just had no idea he could… speak. 

The boy would weep to his mother the second time it had accidentally happened. He’d cry that there was a voice in his room, one he didn’t recognize. One that he was scared of. And the poor parent would try to reassure her child that there was nothing to be afraid of. And if he was really so scared, he could spend the night with her, in her room. 

And the third time it happened, it was on purpose. A month had passed since he’d started hearing the voice. And he was now more determined to confront it than he was to grapple at his mother’s dress and beg her to shed light on his room. He was preparing himself every night to raise his voice and yell at the demon to reveal itself if it chose to speak tonight. And it might’ve been all the more awkward that this ‘demon’ knew what he was planning. After all, they did share a body. A heart. 

But that wouldn’t stop him from planning his approach. He kept his thoughts to himself, to ensure that the young boy wouldn’t hear any of them. Would that even work? We’re sharing a heart, does that mean he can just… hear this? 

Well, if he can, he hasn’t said anything. 

I don’t even know this kid’s name. 

Maybe that’s a good place to start. 

He wanted to take a deep breath to calm down. But with no body to do it, he mentally composed himself. And then he tried again to speak.

_ Hello? _

That was quite a start to the morning. Starting with a screech. 

Ventus wanted to cover his ears, but he still had no body to do it. He had to listen to the screech through the child’s own body. And he could feel their limbs pulling him out of bed. His blurry eyes darted all about the room, giving Ventus a very small idea on where they were. Legs pounded against the floor as they dashed towards the other side of the room. Small palms latched onto something. And they pulled a wooden sword off the wall to hold. 

This was still immensely bizarre for Ventus to bear witness to. Each of the child’s senses were practically hooked to his own. If he were to nudge forward, he was sure he’d be able to take hold of the boy’s body for himself. But that wasn’t exactly a polite way to thank the person that had saved him.

“Where are you, demon?!” The child screamed. His voice piqued like any young boy’s. He held the sword up by his side, suspended in the air, looking for something to whack. 

_ I-I’m not a demon!  _ Ventus felt offended.  _ Please, calm down. I just wanna talk- _

“SHOW YOURSELF THEN!” The boy screeched. He clenched his eyes when he yelled, which only further annoyed Ventus. This child was his window into the world. And he desperately wanted to see where he was. 

The young boy’s eyes trailed over everything in his room, which gave Ventus plenty to work with. Their bed was resting up against the farthest wall with a window to the outside. A desk with a chair and books scattered all over it. The small shelf behind the head of the bed. There were various items scattered about. This must’ve been… a very young child. 

Ventus sighed.  _ I’m sorry if I scared you, but I just need to talk on a normal- _

“WHERE ARE YOU HIDING?!” The young boy raised his sword even higher, really threatening to swing it over anything he deemed fit to punish. “I said, SHOW YOURSELF!” 

If he had a face to call his own, Ventus would be frustrated to a point where an eye might start twitching. This child needed to learn some discipline. And maybe he could provide it. 

Stealing the arm from the boy’s control was much easier than he believed it could be. He had figured for a long time that the child would fight back if he ever tried. But when he grappled for the arm, it gave way to his will immediately. And he could feel the sword in his grasp a bit more clearly. He didn’t reach for anything else, though. Just the arm that held the weapon.

The child gaped as the arm he had always commanded started to move on its own. It lowered into view and Ventus was thankful that he didn't have to force the boy’s head to swivel, to be able to look at the sword. Not that it would matter. If Ventus really wanted to, he could easily spin his own Keyblade on the back of his hand with little effort, and didn't even need to look. But this child’s body was smaller. This sword was different from his key. He needed to be able to see it in order to perform the maneuver. 

He managed to lightly toss the sword into the air and he grabbed it again backhanded, as he would be used to if this were his body. And in one swift motion, he hurled the sword across the room. It smacked into the wall and plummeted against the floor with a thud. 

The boy stared at it, marveled that his arm had gone and done that. The limb fell back to his side, as though the spirit possessing it for a moment relinquished control. And it slid into the back of his heart. 

Ventus expected the child to quietly appreciate the display he’d put on, to show some sort of respect for this ‘demon’ that he was looking for. Rather, Ventus was immediately smacked with the billion thoughts running through the child’s head. Each one more hysterical and annoying than the last. The child at first thought that he was incredible for managing to do that without even thinking about it. Then he cowered at the idea that maybe the demon had grabbed his arm and made him do that. No, I would’ve felt the demon grab me if it had… unless it WIPED MY MEMORY-

_ PLEASE. STOP. _

The child froze.

_ I’m NOT a demon, I just really… need to talk to you. _

“Who are you?” Their eyes trailed around the room. “How come I can’t see you?”

_ My name is Ventus. Do you not remember me? _

“Am I supposed to?”

That stung a little harder than Ventus thought it would. It had crossed his mind plenty of times that this boy, being as young as he was, wouldn’t remember their meeting some years ago. It… was years ago, right?

Ventus wanted to speak more, but he could hear the footsteps outside the hallway. The door to the right of the young child, the light underneath it passing over with shadow as something moved in front of it. And he fled into the child’s heart, hiding away where he couldn’t accidentally be heard.

The door swung open and a tall woman was standing there. Her hair was short cut and brown in color, matching the reflection that Ventus was beginning to see every day. A look of utter concern plastered on her tired face. 

“Are you okay, Sora?” She asked. She brushed her hair out of her face and knelt down to her son. “You’re not usually up this early.”

“I’m okay.” Sora mumbled. “I heard that demon again, though.”

_ I’M NOT A DEMON. _

Sora flinched and yelled, “That was it again!” He brought his hands in close and hugged his arms.

“Oh, sweetie.” His dear mother pulled the small boy into her shoulder and hugged his body. “I promise, whatever’s making that noise, it’s not going to hurt you. I’ll make sure of it.” 

Ventus neglected to speak up anymore. He’d done enough and this poor mother looked to be dealing with enough in her life as it was. Ventus wasn’t doing any harm by staking out in this boy’s heart, was he? He could just remain silent, wait for the day he could return back to his body and no one would have to know he was here. He wouldn’t have to burden the woman with the worries of her ‘demon-infested’ child.

“Do you want to go back to sleep?” She clutched her son’s shoulders and met his blue eyes. 

Sora shook his head. “I don’t want to have bad dreams.”

Ventus knew about that, at least. The child was prone to nightmares. Especially since… How long had it been, since he left them?

“Well, as long as you’re up, do me a favor and get dressed for the day.” She ruffled his spiky mess with one hand. “You’re going to help me in the garden.” And she smiled. 

Whatever negativity plagued the child’s mind immediately faded with this new proposition. “R-Really?!” His small fists tightened with joy. 

“Yeah. I’ll show you how to make the most out of your crops, too. So that way, if you ever have to grow your own food, you’ll be ready for it.” Her eyes narrowed and lips tightened into a smile. “But it’ll be hard work. Are you up for it, Sora?”

“Can Kairi help?” Sora asked.

She couldn’t say no to his face. Though her answer wasn’t the important one. “I dunno. You’ll have to ask her father…” His mother tapped a finger on her cheek. “And you might not even get to ask...” Her hands grabbed his wrists suddenly. “Unless you start getting ready RIGHT NOW!”

Sora nearly squeaked in delight and his mother dropped his wrists. He ran towards the shelves that held his small-fit clothes. And he started getting ready for the day. Ventus sunk a bit farther away from the reality that was the child’s life. Was this really what he was fated to live with? Until he could get his body back? He didn’t know if he had the patience for it. 

Maybe just ignoring it, secluding himself in the back of this child’s heart, would pass the time. Just sit and wait. Ventus was never one for sitting around and waiting for things to happen, but he didn’t have much of a choice. He could continue to freak out this child he now lived with, with a small possibility of making friends with the kid, or he could wait… 

Hours passed before Ventus pulled himself out of the darkness, before dying of curiosity and boredom. Before he let himself see and hear what this child was doing. Opening ‘his’ eyes and turning ‘his’ head to the other girl across the garden. She was very young, maybe the child’s age. Right around his height with messy red hair and blue eyes that screamed excitement. She was grinning wide and carrying a small bag with her. Little stalks peeked from the bag. Corn stalks. They were harvesting.

The sun rays were warm and the scent of salt water coated the breeze. The child was laughing and rushing through the small garden, coated over in a few bushes for some red fruits. He was running towards the girl, both laughing at each other with glee. The boy tumbled over in the dirt and crashed into the girl, both sprawling across the dirt and accidentally hitting each other all the while.

The girl rolled right off him and she kept standing up fast, brushing off any dirt on her little dress. She was wearing something very simple, white and pink with a small pearl necklace over her chest. She was still smiling, but now she looked a bit more devious. 

“You’re cheating!” She yelled, aggressively pointing a finger down at the boy in the dirt.

“Am not!” He was smiling and stood up fast. “You just took the crops I was about to take!”

“Then come get them, Sora!” She stuck her tongue out at him and bolted in the other direction, the bag in her arms smacking her side as her legs moved over the dirt, bits of grass and mud flying up as each of her sandals pressed against the surface. She was laughing and grinning and beyond happy. 

Ventus stared at her and was already starting to wonder who she was. He didn’t get much time to wonder though. The body he rested in already started its way towards the girl, laughing on its own. The thoughts in his head rushed past Ventus before he could process a single one of them. An overactive child who only gave off the vibes of excitement and glee. Devious intent to nab the girl’s share in the harvest, to run them back to his mother and prove how amazing he was at managing crops. It was laughable. It was the mind of a child.

Something Ventus could only put up with for so long, though. The daily struggle of trying not to speak to the child persisted for weeks. Months. Every day, the child would wake up, asking if the demon was there. And every time he asked, the name made him a little less and less annoyed. 

Ventus started to retain some of the things the child was learning. Spying a few memories drifting through their now-shared heart, grabbing a few and looking them over, trying to keen every little detail he could. To find out where he now rested. The memories of the house were all the same, practically repetitions of each other with how static the boy’s life was. His days at school were almost all the same, if only the things people said were different. Some days he’d go and do a different activity on the beach with a friend or two. But it was all the same. The same sky. Same faces. Same names. Same life.

He eventually did learn the names of everyone around the boy. His own was immediate, everyone called him ‘Sora.’ The one with the short-red hair was Kairi, a new friend of Sora’s that he’d met when he was only five-years old. Practically rescued her one night during a meteor shower, when she washed up on shore. Ventus wished he’d been awake for that. Maybe he could’ve done something more to help if he had been. 

Kairi was proving to be a mystery. She’s unpredictable with behavior, sometimes decked with the regular playful mannerisms of a child, other times a bit more emotionally vulnerable. She’d mess around with Sora and… was it ‘Riku?’ And sometimes she’d just prefer to stay at home. But no matter the case, she did always want to make her friends happy. She’d admitted it several times, since she first arrived on shore. 

Ventus soon discovered that they lived on the islands, the ocean being seen from all angles wherever Sora so chose to walk. Ventus had never lived on an island of any sort before. Visited one, maybe. The place was foreign and he had no bearings. He almost didn’t like the place. But he was staying here. He had to call this place… ‘home.’

Ventus refrained from speaking often, or at all, to Sora. At least, not directly. His first real attempt had almost ended with the child crying. He didn’t need to upset Sora anymore, to scare him about the ‘demon’ living inside him. Ventus didn’t like to think about a situation like that. He was simply staying with Sora until he could return to his body… right? 

It was a grandeur of a mess. And it all felt wrong. The child, when he was one, had consented to Ventus staying with him, for as long as he needed to, but the boy back then had no idea what he was getting himself into. He had no idea who he’d just welcomed into his heart and how it would affect the rest of his life. No idea the ‘friend’ he’d just made and what that friendship entailed. 

Ventus, of course, felt somewhat responsible for the child he was now watching over. And that’s what finally started to prompt him to reignite a potential ‘conversation’ between the two. It must’ve been extremely late one night. Ventus had been too used to shutting out the senses of the child, hiding away in his heart where he wouldn’t accidentally speak up or take the child’s body for a moment or two. Sora never thought much about the incident some years ago, perhaps two or three. His mother’s reassurances that the demon didn’t exist, or perhaps that he dreamed it up, eased the moments away from memory and let him sleep at night. Except tonight. For some reason.

Ventus could let himself see and hear things during the night, when Sora was asleep and unmoving. He’d seen a few of the boy’s dreams, which felt extremely rude and a bad violation of privacy. But he somewhat promised to himself that if the time ever came where he got to meet Sora in person, got to meet any of his friends, he would do his best not to bring up anything that he saw while staying with Sora. The boy didn’t deserve to have his entire life splayed out in such an embarrassing way after he practically saved Ventus all those years ago.

How many years had it been anyway? The passing of time was strange to Ventus. He thought he was keeping track of the days and months until one day, Sora’s own birthday rolled around and there was a little celebration for him reaching nine years. He thought it’d only been three years, but rather, it’d been five. Five whole years since Ventus first landed in the child’s heart. And the child was getting more and more independent. 

Pushing away the child’s senses and consciousness wasn’t difficult, but it was something Ventus needed to focus on, lest they seep back through to his heart. He’d press Sora away, create plenty of distance between his heart and the outside world. But the moment he started to think about something else, he almost found himself at the front, with a toy sword in hand and a silver-haired boy as an opponent in a spar. It was arduous and hardly gave Ventus time to reflect on what had happened to himself, Terra and Aqua. So the nights were the only time he had to himself. 

Sora was sleeping more and more in his room rather than downstairs or in his mother’s room when he got scared. A good sign of maturity for someone his age, though Ventus himself wouldn’t truly remember something to compare to. His own childhood was quandary, something that he could never remember. He always wondered if he had a family aside from Terra and Aqua. A real one, blood related and all. Someone he might’ve once called a mother. Or maybe a sister. Where were they, if that’s the case? Are they wondering where I am? Do they even remember me?

He could never answer the questions. And he began to accept that he probably never would.

Ventus needed to keep himself suppressed more and more. His patience was wearing thinner and thinner by the day. He didn’t want to keep himself shoved down in the dark, to avoid being discovered by anyone, most especially Sora. He just wanted to be free of this… prison. He wanted to leave and go find his own friends. Sora could live his blissful and carefree life on these islands for all Ventus cared. But Ventus had other responsibilities and too much time was passing for him to handle any of them. He needed to be free eventually. He needed to wake up. 

The nights were always the longest part of the day, lacking in anything to keep Ventus entertained while he slept. The boy’s dreams were sometimes enough to keep him from dying of boredom, but it still felt wrong to willingly watch. Sometimes Ventus could press Sora’s heart back and get a grasp on reality again, what it felt like to have a body again. He’d never move much, not wanting to risk disturbing Sora’s sleep and waking the child to find a demon possessing his body again. He’d move his arm a bit, sometimes he’d stand up or look out the window. But he never left the room. Ever. If Sora suddenly woke up in another room or outside, that’d be very difficult to explain away with morning grogginess. 

That late night was different. Ventus did start counting the days, and he did it by ‘waking up,’ by letting his own conscious decisions seep in Sora’s limbs. But he couldn’t do it tonight. As soon as he started to lift the dark veil and let himself see again, he felt Sora’s heart still beating at the front. Still awake. Why was Sora still awake tonight?

The sense of sight returned and he noted the starry sky that Sora was staring at. The stars were always so beautiful on the islands and reminded Ventus of back home. Where he was supposed to be. But this wasn’t his home. Whatever feelings he had about this island being a place he belonged were residual from Sora that just managed to leak over into Ventus. He didn’t like staying here. He just wanted to be free. 

Sora didn’t do much more than hug his legs and stare out the window. He was sitting upright on his bed, body wrapped over in a regular shirt and shorts. A blanket over his shoulder, helping to warm his chilled skin. It felt cold tonight. Colder than normal. It must’ve been winter. 

But Ventus still couldn’t figure out why the child was awake. He hated to run through the boy’s head, but he was too curious to let this issue slip by. He needed to entertain himself somehow, and maybe figuring out what was distressing Sora would be enough. 

_ “Why did Riku say that he needed to leave?” _

That first thought stuck with Ventus for a moment. He knew who Riku was a close friend of Sora’s. They’d known each other for as long as they could remember, friends since birth. Though Riku was notably a year older than Sora. Sora would always use that as an excuse as to why Riku tended to be better at things than he. And he’d always claim that he’d get better than Riku one day. Riku would always laugh and encourage Sora to do just that. He was a good friend. 

But he was leaving? If he was leaving, Ventus felt a little pity. Sora looked up to Riku with his whole heart and having a friend like that be taken away would’ve been terrible. He needed to know more. 

_ “He said that we’d always be friends and always look out for each other… And he’s leaving?” _

That only made Ventus feel worse.

_ “I gotta follow him. Wherever he goes, whatever ‘other world’ he goes to… I need to follow Riku.” _

If Ventus had the body to, he might’ve just squawked. ‘Other world?’ Sora wasn’t supposed to know about other worlds. No one was. Only Keyblade wielders should’ve known about the barriers set up throughout the universe. And only the ones who’d been training under masters. Ventus, Terra and Aqua knew. So did the Master and Xehanort… Yen Sid, as well. But Ventus didn’t know any other Keyblade wielders. No one else should know. 

And no one else should be going to other worlds in the first place. It was too dangerous to visit other worlds without a means to defend yourself. And Sora was certainly ill-equipped. No, he couldn’t let this boy go off to other worlds. It might put him in jeopardy, get himself killed. And who knows what would happen to Ventus then? 

He stopped trying to hold himself back. He let the darkness slip off his heart, unmasking it from within Sora’s. He let himself feel the child’s limbs. The steady breathing. The cold air in his room. The soft fabrics over his skin. And the worrisome beatings of both their hearts. 

If he had a body, he might’ve been shaking a little bit. This would be the first time he’d try to speak for some years. How many? Ventus still wasn’t sure. But he couldn’t let his thoughts run wild. They might’ve been the only thing of his that he had left.

_ Hello? _

Ventus was slapped immediately with a mad panic from Sora, the emotion sweeping over his whole body and forcing Ventus to look away from the stars, around the room to find the source of this voice that spoke in his head. It still bothered Ventus greatly, that this boy’s own consciousness was at such ease of access to him. Sometimes it gave him the benefits of knowing what the child needed to hear. Sometimes it just made him annoyed. At the moment, it was the latter. 

“...Who said that?” Sora mumbled out loud. He pressed on his right palm, frantically glancing around the room. Eyes flew to each dark crevice, though there was no indicator of the sound. No presence to be felt, aside from his own.

_ I said that… Sorry.  _

Another chill crept through his body and made him jump a little. He still couldn’t figure out where the voice was coming from. It sounded like it was coming from all around him. Like whoever was speaking had echoed throughout the room. 

Sora’s heart beat faster and he held still, eyes still flicking about the room. “Who are you…”

That response was much milder than the one Ventus had gotten all those years ago. He didn’t immediately screech about a demon or start crying and trying to fight. He was being wary. And… quite possibly kind.

_ I, uh… Sorry, I didn’t think I’d get this far.  _ Ventus didn’t have a plan on how to continue this newly established conversation.

“Where are you?” Sora still kept searching for the voice.

_ I’m… here. That’s all I can really say. _

“That’s not a very good answer…” His eyes narrowed.

_ I know. But I might scare you if I tell you. _

“You’re ALREADY scaring me.” 

He  _ was  _ scared. Ventus could feel the fear, he could hear it. 

_ I might scare you… more. _

Now  _ Ventus  _ was scared. Not for fear of destruction or a friend’s safety. Just for fear of this strange conversation possibly leading into… other confusing scenarios.

“Okay, fine… Who are you?”

Ventus was thankful that Sora was better at this than he. Though this must’ve felt all the more awkward to Sora. 

_ My name is Ventus. We met a few years ago. _

Sora tilted his head, even if there was no one to see his expression. 

_ I’m… the ‘demon.’ _

And then the child leapt out of bed again. In a second, he’d run to the center of his room, towards the toy sword against the wall. It was notably smaller than Ventus remembered. Or maybe Sora was just growing.

But Sora didn’t make it to the toy sword before his legs froze. He didn’t fulfill his younger self’s typical reaction to fear, to defend himself. He was stuck in the center of the room. He couldn’t feel his legs. Not fully.

_ I’m not actually a demon…! I promise- _

“THEN WHY CAN’T I MOVE MY LEGS?” Sora yelled.

Ventus felt his own heart drop. He wasn’t doing a good job at convincing Sora he meant no harm. Not now that he’d just taken the boys legs away from him, stopping him from running to the weapon. He just wanted Sora to sit down and be patient. To listen. He might’ve just lost any attempt at Sora’s trust. And any attempt to help him from this point onwards.

But trying to hold Sora hostage would just further break any future friendships they could have. Ventus reluctantly stepped away from the front and let Sora have his body back. The boy nearly fell forward when feeling came back to him. He stumbled for a moment, both knees bending and his front slouching. Arms dangled off his shoulders and he took in some quick and panicked breaths. 

Ventus really wasn’t sure what to do now. He could hear the sheer terror in the boy’s thoughts and wanted to try to comfort him. But saying anything now might’ve made it worse. 

_ I’m sorry, I shouldn’t’ve done that.  _

“Please… don’t do that ever again…” Sora huffed out. His hand grabbed at his chest, over his own beating heart. Over the other heart inside, now beating with regret. “Who are you, just tell me that…”

_ I already told you my name. _

“Yeah, but…” Sora straightened up a bit and glanced around. “Who…  _ are  _ you?”

_ Who I am… isn’t really important. I just wanted to talk to you.  _

“About what?” Sora started walking back towards the bed.

_ You said your friend was leaving. Riku.  _

Sora flinched and froze again. “I didn’t say that…”

Ventus immediately regretted his words. He was supposed to be subtle about this, to  _ not  _ let on his presence in Sora’s body. And he just gave it all away with that, didn’t he? Well, he couldn’t hide it forever… He’d been doing a good job for five years already. And maybe just being blunt would make it easier.

_ I’ve been here for a long time… Sorry that I’ve never spoken up much before. _

“What do you mean…”

_ It’s hard for me to explain… but you saved me some years ago. And ever since then, I’ve been here, with you.  _

Sora didn’t immediately ask the question, but Ventus could hear his wonders about it.

_ It’s been five years. _

The boy’s head tilted up. “How’d you…?”

_ I already said, I’ve been with you.  _

“You mean… literally.”

_ Yeah. I’m… sorry, this is really weird. _

Sora’s eyes drifted down and his hands tightened a bit. “You’re… where are you though?”

_ In your heart. _

The phrasing was strange, but Sora got the point. He glanced down and placed a hand over his chest. “Here…?”

_ Yes. _

“You’re… in there…”

_ Yes… _

“How did you end up in there?”

_ I’m not too sure on all the details, sorry. _

Sora sighed and closed his eyes. “You really gotta stop apologizing.” He walked towards his bed and turned to sit. 

_ I mean it, though. I’m sorry this is so strange.  _

“I get it… ‘Ventus’…”Sora paused to think about it. “That’s your name, right?”

_ My friends call me Ven, if that’s easier.  _

“Ven. Okay.” Sora let his back rest against the bed and his legs dangled over the edge. “You wanted to talk to me about Riku?” 

_ You’re worried about him leaving, aren’t you? _

“Yeah…” Sora shrugged. “He keeps talking about going and finding ‘other worlds.’ I don’t know if he’s been hearing stories or if there’s actual proof of other worlds out there.”

Ventus wanted to tell Sora the truth, but he needed to remember that the Master had always said. If ever he were to go to the other worlds, he needed to keep the order and remain silent about where he came from. The realization that other worlds exist might cause a bit of chaos and some unwanted scenarios. 

_ He… might just be hearing stories. Has he talked about leaving any time soon? _

“No…” Sora sighed and his eyes drooped. “Just says we gotta leave some day. He thinks Kairi came from another world and he wants to find her home.” He paused for a moment. “You know who Kairi is, right?”

_ Yeah. _

Sora didn’t speak right away, but Ventus knew what questions he wanted to ask, the bits and fragments of them flying through his head. “If you’re… in my heart, does that mean, for the past five years, you’ve been… hearing everything?”

_ What do you mean? _

_ “I mean, you can hear this, too?” _

Ventus gasped to himself when Sora’s thoughts came by clearly.  _ I… Yes, I can hear that. _

Sora shut his eyes and let out a crooked grin. “That’s embarrassing…” He covered his eyes with his forearm, still laying on his back on the bed. “You’ve been in my head for a while now…”

_ If it makes you feel better, I’m not paying too much attention. I didn’t catch everything you did. _

“Still that’s…. Wow, that’s weird.” 

_ I know. Sorry. _

“I told you to stop apologizing…!” 

_ Okay, okay, I’ll… try. _

“Try harder.” Sora didn’t drop the smile. “And… tell me more.”

_Huh?_ _  
_ “You’ve been watching me for a long time. So tell me about you. You seem like a really cool person, Ventus.”

He felt flattered. Ventus might’ve even laughed a little if he had the body to feel the embarrassment rising in his heart. 

_ Alright… Well, I traveled around for a while to try and help other people. _

“With what?”

_ There was someone a few years ago trying to hurt others. And I just wanted to protect the people I cared about and anyone else I could.  _

“Does that mean… you can fight?”

_ I guess I can…  _

“Do you use a sword like me?”

_ Kinda…? _

“So you’re like a swordsman!” 

_ I… I am. Yeah. That’s a good way to say it. _

“Is there another way that works better?”

Ventus wanted to say it immediately. He wanted to tell Sora about everything. This was the first time he’d gotten to talk to someone in a long time. The loneliness was shedding away with every word he spoke to Sora. And he felt happy to be talking to Sora specifically. Was it because of their shared heart? Or Ventus’ desperation to have  _ someone  _ to talk to? Someone who could hear him and give him the normal… well, normal as it could be, conversation he’d needed for a long time now. He wanted to just talk. He just wanted to be.

So he needed to be gentle with this, to not freak out Sora too much. Tonight was already quite a start to… hopefully a friendship. That’s all Ventus wanted. A friend. 

There was tentative silence where Ventus composed himself. He knew just the right word.

_ I’m what people would call a Keyblade wielder. _

**Author's Note:**

> I don't currently have plans to continue this, but I did have ideas regarding Roxas' act in 358 and how this concept would affect it, so there may be something like that in the future. Reason I wanted to post this years after writing it was just because I found it in my drafts (along with a LOT OF OTHER one-shots) and I figured I'd throw it here to see what other people thought. The idea behind Ventus being a ghost, or as I said a lot, a "demon," goes to my friend Fluffy. She's had this concept in her head for many years now and I'm still an avid supporter of her exploration of the idea. You can check out her Tumblr here: https://fluffyk97.tumblr.com/


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